Trent Grisham’s heroics not enough as Yankees fall to Pirates in 11 innings after late rally

Trent Grisham can’t be the hero every day, though he tried his best to make it two straight on Sunday. 

After Grisham delivered a game-tying, two-out, two-strike single in the ninth inning, the Yankees still could not finish off the sweep as the Pirates won 5-4 in 11 innings on Sunday afternoon at a raw PNC Park. 

Tommy Pham delivered the game-winner, battling for a nine-pitch at-bat off Devin Williams that ended with a bullet of a single to the warning track in left field that scored automatic runner Jack Suwinski. 

After Suwinski stole third during Pham’s at-bat, Williams was going for a strikeout but threw a 3-2 changeup just below the zone that Pham lifted a long way. 

Jazz Chisholm Jr. #13 of the New York Yankees walks back to the dugout after striking out in the sixth inning during the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on April 6, 2025 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

“We’re expected to do a job and I didn’t do it today,” said Williams, who came on to start the 11th after Luke Weaver tossed two scoreless frames following Grisham’s game-tying hit. 

“[The offense] did a great job battling back in the ninth, giving us a chance to win. Weave did a great job keeping them off the board there for two innings. [I] couldn’t get it done.” 

The high-scoring Yankees lineup has given the pitching staff some margin for error early this season, but that was not the case on Sunday, when runs were hard to come by other than in the three-run ninth. 

Former Yankees trade bust Andrew Heaney shoved against them for seven innings of one-run ball while striking out 10, cooling off a collection of hitters that had piled up 19 runs through the first two games of the series. 

And then in extra innings, the Yankees (6-3) could not scrape across a run against lefties Caleb Ferguson and Joey Wentz. 

But to get there, they mounted a rally off lefty reliever Ryan Borucki in the ninth, which Anthony Volpe started with a one-out single.

Yankees starting pitcher Will Warren (98) gets a visit from pitching coach Matt Blake during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Pittsburgh, Sunday, April 6, 2025.

After Austin Wells bunted for an out (trying to take advantage of the third baseman playing deep and off the bag), Jasson Domínguez walked before Oswald Peraza smoked an RBI double down the third base line to pull the Yankees within 4-2. 

Grisham, who led Saturday’s outburst with a pair of home runs, was then down to his last strike before roping a two-run single through the right side to tie it. 

“He’s having such good at-bats, more really good ones today,” manager Aaron Boone said of his fourth outfielder who is making a case for more playing time. 

The Pirates (3-7) had taken a 4-1 lead into the ninth after getting to Will Warren, who cruised early.

He retired the first eight batters he faced before getting burned by walking No. 9 hitter Isiah Kiner-Falefa on a full count.

The equivalent of a cardinal sin in baseball, that came back to haunt Warren as the lineup flipped over and Ke’Bryan Hayes singled before Bryan Reynolds roped a two-run double off the center field wall for the 2-1 lead. 

Yankees center fielder Trent Grisham (12) hits a two-run single against the Pittsburgh Pirates ninth inning at PNC Park.

Warren gave up two more runs in the fourth inning as the Pirates got him into deep counts throughout the day, driving his pitch count up to 87 by the time he finished his fourth and final frame. 

“Two-out walk, kind of like last week, ended up biting us in the butt,” Warren said. “Two-out walks can’t happen. … When you have those 3-2 counts with a base open, just go at them. I think I made a solid pitch, just a little off. I think you can miss in the zone and let them get themselves out.” 

The Yankees have a decision looming on who will be bounced from the rotation once Clarke Schmidt returns from the injured list, which they hope will happen on April 15 or 16 if he gets through one more rehab start healthy.

Warren may end up being the victim just because he has minor league options, which would allow the Yankees to maximize their starting depth, though he will likely make one more start before a decision has to be made. 

For now, they are on to a chilly Detroit, where the hitting conditions won’t get any easier. 

“Not being able to push [a run] across a few times [in extras] just caught up with us,” Boone said. “Little bit of a tough day for us offensively, but what a great rally there in the ninth to get us back into it.”